Improvement in car-couplings



UNTTED STATES PATENT @Futon EZRA N. GIFFORD, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, THEODORE B. STEVENS, AND FRANCIS A. BRADY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 158,059, dated December 22, 1874; application filed October 28, 1874.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, EZRA N. GIFFORD, of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Car-Coupling; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being. had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figurel shows a side elevation of one drawbar with elevated position of coupling-catch in dotted lines, and a vertical section of the draw-bar of the next car. Fig. 2 is a plan view.

This invention relates to certain improvements in car-couplings. It. consists in the peculiar construction of a slot or recess in the side of the coupling-latch, in which rests the end of a cross-bolt, by means of the peculiar conformation of which said recess the said catch is controlled in its motion and position, and the danger of its loss obvia-ted. It consists, also, in the inclined shape of the shoulder upon the front of the coupling-catch, and the mode of locking the short cross-bolt by embedding its bent end in a recess in the draw-bar, whereby the said bolt is protected from incidental knocks, is always kept in place, and is easily detachable. My invention further consists in the peculiar construction of the draw-bar, in combination with the said coupling catch and bolt.

In the drawing, A represents the tapering mouth of the draw-bar. B is the couplingy catch, and C the link. Said catch has upon one side a longitudinal recess or slotted cavity, a, which turns at b at an angle of about one hundred and twenty degrees, and is hollowed out at c upon one side, to form a ledge or resting-place for the cross-bolt. The said coupling-catch B is straight upon its rear edge, and from the middle of the front to bottom of the rear edge tapers in the form of the are of a circle. About the middle it is cut in to form a shoulder, d, which inclines to the longitudinal recess a at about the same angle that the slot b does. The draw-bar A is provided with a hole, I), which adapts it to the ordinary coupling-pin, and is recessed just in the rear of the catch B with a vertical slot having an inclined bottom, d. Vithin said inclined bottom is a channel, e, connecting the recess with the hole D, by means of which any accumulation of water in the recess is allowed to run out. F is a cross-bolt, one end of which rests in the recess a b c, holding and guiding the catch B in its movements, and the other end is bent and locked in the bed E in the draw-bar. The catch B rests, when in a vertical pointer, upon a seat, f, at the bottom of the incline d', and presses with its shoulder d against the upper edge of the draw-bar, which is made of a shape to conform to the said shoulder.

The operation of this coupling is as follows: The catch B is in a vertical position and resting upon the seat f. Now, as the advancing link strikes the arched face of the said catch, it drives it back in the rear recess, allowing it to rise as it recedes over the incline d', the shoulder d and recess b being cut at an angle which corresponds with the incline d thus a1- lowing the catch to move laterally before the entering-link in a vertical position. As soon as the catch has passed to the rear of the recess, and the shoulder is free of the draw-bar, the link forces the catch upward in a vertical direction by reason of its arched face, and the catch falls through and couples the link. Now, when the tract-ion is exerted, the catch is brought tight against the draw-bar, and the tendency which the arched face has to force the said catch up is counteracted by the shoulder d, thus affording a secure and immovable point of draft.

It will be observed that the recess b, shoulder d, and incline bottom f, are all inclined at about the same angle to the longitudinal axis of the catch B. 'Ihe object of this arrangement is to cause the catch to move steadily and smoothly in an oblique vertical direction until the link passes under the same, thus ob viating any possibility of the said catch being itself caught, strained, and rendered inoperative. The object of the supplemental recess c is to support the catch when desired,the inertia ot' the catch causing it to fall and couple the link when the concussion of the impact is imparted to the draw-bar.

I know that couplin g-catches have been constructed which are provided with right-angular recesses, to operate in a similar manner to that described 5 but as the right-angular form of the recess causes the catch to jam, strain, and become, in consequence, inoperative, I disclaim the broad principle upon which the different devices act, and confine myself to my 3. The cross-bolt F, having a bent end, in combination with the draw-bar constructed with a bed, E, for the purpose of locking said bolt, as described.

4. The coupling-catch B, having the recesses a, b, and c, and an inclined shoulder, d, in conibination With the cross-bolt F, and the drawbar having a rear recess with an inclined bottom, d', all constructed substantially as and for the purpose described.

EZRA N. GIFFORD.

Witnesses:

LOUIS MYERS, J. W. WEBSTER. 

